Ironing-board



(No Model.) I A K H H. RATGLIPPB.

IRONING BOARD.

'155.545,556I Patented sept. 11, 1895.

I, Mmm-1117 UNrrn ,STATES ATENT ENCE@ HENRY RATCLIFFE, on LYNoi-Inune, VIRGINIA.

lRoNlNe-BOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Non 546,556, dated September 17, 1895.

To all whom t may concern: Be it known that I, HENRY RATCLIFFE, citizen of the United States, residing at Lynchburg, in the county of Campbell and State of Virginia, have invented a new and useful Ironing-Board, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to ironing-boards adapted foruse in connection with a table and constructed to fold when not in use, the object of the invention being to provide a simple, efficient, and inexpensive device capable of adjustment and arrangement to expose either a large or a small ironing-surface for large and small articles, respectively, the member forming the small or bosom board being' utilized when the main board is in use as a terminal support or brace for such main or large board.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in thefollowing description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention 'applied in the operative position to the end of a table. Fig. 2 is a side view, partly in section, of the same. Fig; 3 is a perspective view showing the small or bosom board arranged in operative position. Fig. 4 is a side view of the device folded. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the upper end of one of the side bars of the inclined support.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlngs.

l designates a portion of a table in connection with which the improved ironing-board is shown, 2 indicating an inclined support resting at one end upon the edge of the table, and 3 the main board, which is connected at one end to the support and is provided-.with a reducedinner end 4, which projects between the parallel bars forming thc sides of the suport and bears against the under surface of the table-top. The side bars of the Vsupport are notched in their under sides adjacent to their upper ends, as shown at 5, to it the edge of the table, and seats 6 are formed in the upper sides of these side bars for the reception of the inner end of the board 3, adjacent to the reduced portion 4.-, the shoulders 7 of the serai no. 546,074. ero mais.)

` board bearing against the vertical shoulders formed rat 4the inner ends of said seats. The combination of these seats for the shouldered portions of the ironing-board and the reduced extension of the board which engages the under surface of the table top forms an attachment sufficient to hold the board in place against movement toward the table or downward movement caused by pressure upon the board; but in addition thereto, in order to prevent displacement of the board by movement from the vtable, I prefer to employ lateral headed studs 8 on the side edges of the board, which engage the projecting upper ends of brackets 9, secured to the outer sides of the side bars of the support. These bracket-s are provided at their upper extremities with hooks or shoulders 10, with which are engaged the headed studs upon the edges of the board.

The side bars of the support are connected near theirupper ends bya cross-brace 11, the upper edge of which is beveled to lie iiush with the bottorn'of vthe seat 6, and thereby form an extension of 'such seat, and the lower ends of the side bars ofthe support are connected by cross-braces l2 and 13, the former of which is secured to the upper and the latter to the lower edges of lthe side bars in suitable notches formed therein. These braces 12 and 13 are arranged approximately opposite each other, and hence when the bosom-board 14 is arranged with itsV side shoulders 15 in the seats 16, formed adjacent to the upper edge of the brace 12, thereduced extension 17 thereof fits between thc edges of the braces 12 and 13,

Aand is thereby held firmly in an. upright position to form a terminal brace for the main board 3. The reduction of both the main and bosom boards is such as to allow the extension to pass between the inner surfaces of the side bars of the support, and said extensions are vmade approximately equal to the interval between said inner surfaces of the side bars in'order to prevent looseness when arranged as above described. Y

Inasmuch as the inner ends of both of the boards 3 and 14. are constructed with similar lateral shoulders and reduced extensions, either may be mounted in the seats 6, formed at the upper end of the support, the arrangement of the bosom-board in this position being indicated in Fig. 3, in'which case the in ICO ner end of the extension 17 bears against the under surface of the table-top.

In order to provide for an intermediate adjustment of the bosom-board, I provide seats 1S in the side bars of the support, between the seats G and 16, and also arrange a cross-bar 19 between said side bars sufficiently above the plane of the seats 18 to be engaged by the extremity of the reduced extension of the board which is mounted in the seats, and the side bars between the seats 1G and 1S are enlarged, as shown at 20, the enlargement being equal to the thickness of the bosom-board, whereby when the latter is folded parallel with the support it lies with its outer surface fiush with the outer edges of the enlargement and also the outer surface of the cross-bar ll. This provides for the folding of the main board over the bosom-board and parallel with the support, the inner or lower surface of the main board bearing upon the edges of the enlarged portions 20 of the side bars.

From the above description it will be seen that the board constructed 'as described is capable of a variety of adjustments to suit different purposes, and that when not in use it may be folded into a compact form for transportation or storage; and it is obvious that various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The combination of an inclined support having parallel side bars notched for engagement with the edge of a table and provided contiguous to its upper and lower ends, respectively, with transversely opposite seats,

parallel transverse braces being arranged contiguous to the lower seats, an ironing board having a reduced inner end to t between the side bars of the support and engage the under surface of the table-top, the shoulders contiguous to said reduced portion being fitted in the seats near lthe upper end of the support, and a bosom-board having a reduced extremity adapted to tit between the side bars of the support and extend between the contiguous edges of said transverse braces, the shoulders of the bosom-board contiguous to said extension being arranged in the seats near the lower end of the support, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of a support having parallel side bars notched near their upper extremities to engage the edge of a table, connected near their upper and at intermediate points by eross-bars 1l and 19 secured respectively to the front and rear surfaces of the bars and connected near their lower ends by the approximately opposite cross-bars 12 and 155, said side bars being provided in the plane of the upper edge of the upper crossbar with seats (i, at their lowerends with seats 1G and at intermediate points slightly below the plane of the lower edge of the cross-bar 19 with intermediate seats, and boards provided with shoulders to it in said seats and having reduced extensions to pass between the inner surfaces of the side bars of the support, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY RATCLIFFE.

Witnesses:

N. O. MnNsoN, Jr., C. D. HAMNER. 

